Your water bill is all set to fall

Good news for those who enjoy water-based activities in the home, like drinking tea, having a bath and having a sly look at the poo they've just done before flushing - household water bills in England and Wales are going to fall by an average of 5% by 2020, according to Ofwat!

This is not including inflation, obviously.

It is thought that the average bill be about £20 cheaper. In 2020, that'll probably buy you 10 cigarettes, in plain packaging.

Either way, this news is better than a kick up the hole.

What is genuinely good news is that the regulator has said that the water companies are going to invest more than £44bn in the next five years to improve services: "With bills held down by 5% and service driven up over the next five years, customers will get more and pay less," said Cathryn Ross, Ofwat chief exec.

The water companies have two months to accept this decision and if they don't like it, they have to go and cry to the Competition and Markets Authority. You get the impression that a good number of them will because, if history has taught us anything, those that control our water don't like doing anything until something is broken.

So there you have it. Even if we don't notice the savings, it'll be nice if Ofwat manage to bully the water companies into giving everyone a better service.